Poor Baby
by Running to Stand Still
Summary: A girl enters Camp Green Lake knowing exactly what to expect for once. Is there more to her than there appears to be? What will happen to her? Will she change lives of the boys, or will they change her? Read to find out! And then review!
1. Meet the Girl

**(A/N: Oh no, I've broken the rule. I told my friends I would never publish a story about a girl going to Camp Green Lake on fanfiction. Well, there's a whole folder of them on my laptop alone, they want out. This is one I just began to write and wanted some feedback on it. Go ahead and flame it, critique it, do your worst, do your best. Tell me what's wrong with it, problems, anything. I can take it. One or two mean reviews (hell a hundred of them) won't make me cry or stop writing. It just lets me know I need to improve. Tell me anything about this story you like or hate. Tell me any mistakes I've made. I don't care; just don't give one or two word reviews. I like reviews to be lengthy and to get he point across. If I get another "cliché" review like I did on another site, heads will fly. (I'm notorious for lengthy author notes). I'm a little excited for this one because it's different and I have some awesome ideas for it.)**

**Disclaimer: We're allowed to dream right? I dream of owning Holes.**

What if as a child you were never told "I love you" by your parents? What if they never hugged or kissed you? What if, when all other kids went on vacation with their families, the most your parents did for you was give you a dollar to leave them alone while they were hung-over. What if they never gave you gifts, threw you a party, took you out to dinner, or went trick-or-treating on Halloween. What if the most contact you had with your parents was when they were yelling at you to go to your room. What if they forgot about your little sporting games and you were left at the field hours after the last person left?

What if, in order to make life seem better, you told everyone the reason your parents never gave you new clothes or bought you presents or toys was they were saving for college, when in all actuality; they were just feeding their alcohol and smoking problems?

How would you end up? How would your life turn out? Would you be the freak, a social outcast? Or would you work at making your life seem better and be one of the popular kids?

Ryan sat smoking a cigarette on the cold, stone stoop as the bitter wind whipped her long black hair around her face. Dead leaves swirled in the empty street, blowing all around her and settling in piles on the corners. She exhaled and sighed, a puff of smoke rising above her.

A single car rolled down the road slowly, coughing and sputtering black smoke from the exhaust pipe, and it stopped by the curb in front of her. She straightened up and quickly threw the cigarette on the step her feet were on, but stomped it out slowly. Slowly, she shuffled where she sat so there was space for someone to walk by if they had to.

A man stepped out of the car, holding his dirty baseball hat on his head and pulling the jacket as tight a he could as the wind tried to pull it away. He slammed the door to his car and slowly walked up the sidewalk to the front door of the apartment building.

"Hey dad," Ryan said as he brushed past her. He grunted to acknowledge he'd heard her. "Nice to see you too," she mumbled as he slammed the door.

Ryan lit another cigarette with a lighter from her back pocket. The wind was blowing dangerously, and the lighter had to be lit several times before she was able to successfully light the cigarette. Once lit, she took a long, slow drag on it.

"Ryan, your dinner's in the microwave if you want it, you ungrateful brat," a woman wearing a dirty bathrobe said as she stuck her head out of the door. "And if I hear that you're still smoking, I'll skin your behind!" With that, the frizzy-haired woman slammed the door closed. Ryan rolled her eyes and stood up, wind trying to tear her jacket away. She took a final drag and tossed the cigarette onto the sidewalk.

"Yeah, well, I don't skin your behind, now do I?" Ryan mumbled. "And at least I'm not a jobless drunk like both you and daddy." She stood and headed inside, slamming the door like both of her parents had. Maybe that was some hereditary thing she had inherited from them; one of many bad, nasty habits.

Inside the dark, dirty apartment that smelled like smoke and alcohol, Ryan kicked her way through the littered floor until she came to the smoke-filled kitchen. Both of her parents were sitting at the litter-covered kitchen table smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, and eating microwave dinners. A fan was running above the kitchen table in an attempt to get rid of some of the smoke, but it had no where else to go. Ryan took her meal from the microwave and sat down in a rickety chair that wobbled with every moment she made. After digging through papers and cartons from cigarettes, she found a clean fork and began to eat with it. The entire time the small family ate, they were completely silent. Ryan finished first and tossed her dirty fork into the trash-filled sink. Then she reached over to the ancient fridge and took out a can of soda.

"You'll rot your teeth," her mother warned her.

"Then I'll be exactly like you," Ryan said. Both of her parents looked at her with glares, but didn't say anything. Ryan set the can down on the table and rubbed her fingers against her teeth. They weren't rotting anytime soon. "Um, today at school I got in trouble. The cops searched my locker and found a lighter. Then they searched me and found a pack of cigarettes." She looked up from the spot she was staring at and saw the angry expressions on her parents' faces. "They were going to fine me, but seeing as they've fined me so many times, I've got a court date in a week, Thursday at nine. Not that you care, but I might get jail time because there's no doubt that I've been smoking. Some punk in the lower grades ratted out a bunch of kids he's seen around town smoking or drinking. At least they didn't catch me with booze I guess."

"Why, you little ingrate; you're only trouble for us! We give you a roof over your head, food, clothes, and how do you repay us?! Do you want us to get reported and for you to be put in some foster home? Is that what you want to happen?! It will happen, but do you actually want it?" my mother asked. She picked up a beer bottle and whipped it across the room; it shattered on the wall. Maybe she had aimed at me, but she was drunk, so how would I know?

"What the hell do you care as long as you get your booze and smokes? I covered for you and told them _I_ bought them off some guy on the streets! I lied for you; I even made up a description of some guy who was selling cigarettes to minors. That's way more than you've ever done for me! Don't you worry; I covered your asses so you'd stay the wannabe parents that you are! A fricking piece of dirt has better parenting instincts than you!" Ryan yelled, frustrated with her parents. She hated them, they hated her. She didn't realize until she was done yelling that she was standing.

"Get out of my house! Get out of here now!" her mother yelled.

"Fine, it's not like I want to be here anyway!" Ryan screamed back. She ran to her tiny room and pulled an already packed backpack out from under her bed. She had it ready for an instance like this, should one ever arise. Luckily she was prepared; it made for a quick getaway.

"She's _your_ daughter John, your responsibility as well. I can't do all the God damn work around here!" she heard her mother yell.

"I'm leaving and _never_ coming back!" She yelled as she ran out the front door and down the sidewalk.

"Ryan, you get your ass back in this house right now!" her father screamed down the road as she ran. She heard the car start and then stall as he attempted to come after her. That bought her just enough time. He started it successfully as Ryan disappeared down the block and into the city park. By then, Ryan couldn't hear his screams and threats, or the loud clanging and rumbles of the car; all she heard were her thoughts and her feet pounding the pavement on the sidewalk…

Always being put down, told she couldn't do anything or ever would. Always being told she wouldn't amount to anything. It was drilled into Ryan's brain continuously that she was worthless, absolutely nobody and nothing. She didn't matter, people didn't care about her.

Ryan never heard a kind word in her life. She was always told no, never. Nothing positive was ever said about her by anyone. She was stuck in a cold place, never allowed out. All she wanted was to be free, but everyone told her no and held her back. She fought to break free, to get out. Always being told she couldn't, so she didn't.

It took her a while to figure out that she could run, and when she did, she was long, long gone…

Ryan never did look back… and no one cared.

Three weeks on her own came to an end when some cops busted her for stealing from a convenience store. Because she begged and pleaded, they didn't tell her parents they were keeping her at the jail. There was a notice out alerting people of her disappearance, but no one really cared. The police gave her food and water, a warm bed, and even gave her clean clothes. No one was ever that kind to her, but she knew it was their job. At least they didn't make her go home. Maybe they suspected her parents were cruel and didn't want to put her in a dangerous situation. But she knew that they knew it would only mean more work for them. They had to tell her parents she was safe though, but that was all.

The next day, she was woken up at six in the morning and was taken to the next town over for her court hearing. They'd added some charges to her case for not showing up, evading arrest, and stealing multiple times. She had no choice but to plead guilty right off the bat; Ryan didn't even get a lawyer.

"Ryan Jacobs," the judge said in a deep voice, "please step forward to the defendant's stand." The boy in front of her had just been found innocent and acquitted of all charges. He left after giving Ryan a thumbs-up and smile for good luck. She didn't smile back or anything, she simply nodded to show she understood.

"Ryan Jacobs, how do you plead?" the judge asked. His name was Patrick Norton, and he tried to give kids second or third chances before doing anything… drastic. Ryan hoped she wouldn't have to go back home.

"I'm guilty," she said bluntly. He looked shocked for a moment, but recovered.

"To all of the charges you plead guilty? There are numerous offenses here; smoking on school grounds, being in possession of both a lighter and cigarettes of school grounds, numerous accounts of stealing, missing a court date, evading arrest, and running away from home to name a few of them. You're sure that you're guilty of them _all_?"

"Well, yeah, I already said that I was guilty. I did every single last one of those things. I'm a criminal, a thief. Just please, don't send me home, but don't tell my parents that I told you that. Please, do anything you want to me, I just can't go back home. I'll kill myself if you make me go back there," Ryan said as she pleaded. She didn't put up a fake front; she looked dead serious, just like she meant to. The man standing at the plaintiff's stand was standing there with his mouth wide open. The judge seemed fairly shocked as well.

"Well then," the judge said as he composed himself. "Would you like to file any charges against your parents?"

"Nope, unless you can sue for being a lousy, deadbeat parent, they've done… nothing wrong," Ryan said. _I can't believe I just lied for them; this is my chance to get them taken away!_ She thought.

"Okay, I'm going to take a ten minute recess and think this over. When I return, I'll let you know what is going to be the next step Miss Jacobs." With that, the judge stood and left out an oak door.

"Wait," Ryan said as he closed the door.

"There's more?" he asked in shock. She nodded her head and he returned to the room.

"I don't want them to ever find me; find some place in the middle of no where to send me. Make sure they wouldn't think of that place. Send me wherever, I don't care," Ryan said.

There was something about her the judge liked. Maybe it was the fiery spirit he could sense in her. He pitied her, just like the man at the plaintiff's stand.

The judge exited the room without another word and Ryan began to wait for the final verdict.

"Hi, Miss Jacobs, my name is John Kingston of Parker, Johnston, and Kingston Lawyer Agency. If you _ever_ think of a career as a lawyer, come see us. Here's my card. You've got a real persuasive way and we like that. You'd make a swell lawyer," the plaintiff said. Ryan took the card and shoved it in the back pocket of her jeans. _Later_, she told herself, _I can burn it if I have to._

"I've reached my verdict," the judge announced upon reentering. "Although, there wasn't very much left for me to decide- you were very specific Miss Jacobs- I did have some thinking to do. Now, I had a friend of mine do the research on this place for me, and then I checked it out myself. It is out in the middle of nowhere, just like you specified. Your parents, if they were to search for you, wouldn't even think of it. They would probably dismiss it quickly because of the description. It is a boys' only correctional facility. It is called Camp Green Lake. A bus is waiting for you outside. It will leave as soon as you are ready. Do you have anything you would like to bring with you?"

"Only what's in my backpack," Ryan said picking in up off the chair next to her and putting it on her back.

"Then you will be leaving immediately. Good luck, I believe that you will need it. One of my bailiffs will escort you there. It's a seventeen hour drive there, so it's best you leave right away."

"Thank you your honor," she said seriously.

"Oh, and Miss Jacobs," the judge said, "You'll be there for two-and-a-half years. When you're released, we'll discuss your next step."

If Ryan could smile, she would have. She was finally free. But it wasn't in her to smile, she had forgotten how to.

Finally she had gotten what she wanted more than anything in the entire world, her freedom. Finally, Ryan was going to experience wide open, blue skies and fresh air. For the first time in her entire life, Ryan was going to decide her own destiny, where she got in life.

Of course, it came at a cost for her; everything always comes at a cost. Ryan didn't exactly get to be totally _free_. She had to pay for her crimes, but that didn't matter. She was finally out of the horrid, brutal controlling relationship she had with her deadbeat parents. It was all over finally; it had only taken fifteen years of constant battering and suffering.

**(Switch to First Person Point of View) **

It took twelve hours to finally reach the middle of nowhere. In all directions, I could only see sandy desert. It didn't look too welcoming. There were telephone lines running alone the dirt road, but that was all. At one point I could swear they stopped, but suddenly picked up again without any sort of electrical plant. _Maybe it was in my head,_ I thought. It was only the heat getting to me. Only twelve hours ago, back in Hell I'd been almost frozen wearing my hoodie and jeans. It was like I was in another world.

It was almost eight and the sky was already dark. Another twenty minutes passed and I was unable to see anything beyond my seat. There was a guard snoring loudly five seats in front of me. Of course, I was in a caged area; the entire back of the bus was separated from the driver and guard.

"We're going to stop for the night and continue with the last stretch tomorrow morning," the driver announced. I nodded lazily and rested my head against the cool window. The bus slowed and pulled off the road. When the engine stopped, it was pretty much completely silent except for the snores of the guard. He hadn't stirred at all for three hours.

"Do you have any water?" I asked the driver. He laughed at me.

"Nope, and get used to being thirsty. This is the desert Missy, not much water to spare out here," he told me. I frowned to myself and pulled my knees up to my chest. In those few minutes, the temperature had suddenly dropped and I was cold again. Slowly I drifted off to sleep, relieved to be free at last.

"Rise and shine girly, we'll be arriving at Green Lake in an hour. You'll want to be wide awake for this," the driver yelled. Slowly I opened my eyes, aware the bus was moving again, and that it was scorching hot once again. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a brush, running it quickly through my hair. I was angry at the fact the only shirt I had, besides my sweatshirt that I was wearing, was a long-sleeved hockey shirt. But, at least it's thin. Under the sweatshirt I was wearing a tank top, but I don't like myself enough to wear just that. My big, ugly sweatpants didn't cool me off either.

I stared out the window expecting to see barbed wired fences, big ugly brick buildings, a watchtower or two, and maybe some sort of patrol. None of that stuff ever appeared. Instead, I saw endless piles of dirt and holes, tents, and a few rundown wood buildings. When the bus finally stopped, dust settling around it, I felt uneasy for the first time since running away from home.

"Off the bus girlie," the guard said. I picked up my backpack and stepped through the gate, then down the steps into the scorching sun. A little dust formed around my feet. I slowly walked forward, the guard leading me. There were no other people and I strongly suspected the bus was going to leave me here to die.

"In here," the guard said, holding the door to one of the shacks open for me. I stepped inside, but instead of the shaded room being cooler, it was like an oven.

The room was small, just a small fridge, a desk, and a chair with a bulky man snoring in it. To the right were two slightly open doorways. One led to a bathroom, and the other seemed to hold a TV and bed from what I could see.

"Hey buddy, wake up," the guard said tossing a clipboard onto the littered desk. The man grunted and straightened up, mumbling to himself and scratching his large stomach. Now I saw the ugly sideburns he had, and a rattlesnake tattoo on the side of his neck. The guard sat in the only available chair; I was left standing.

"Who's this…?" he said, looking at my clipboard. He signed some papers, not saying anything else. "Have a fun trip back home," he told the guard. The guard stood and left without another word.

"So, your name is Ryan Jacobs, eh? And you have a fairly lengthy criminal record dating back to when you were… eleven. Well, my name is Mr. Sir, and I _don't_ have a criminal record. I do, however, own this gun here for shooting yellow-spotted lizards. They're nasty buggers and _will_ kill you. If you see one, run away. Now, you're to dig holes in the hot sun just like any other delinquent boy here, is that perfectly clear?" I nodded absently, biting my tongue in order to keep from laughing. I mean, come on, _Mr. Sir_?! To me, he just seems like a big bully, using his authority to boss everyone around and get what he wants. But still, using two names of "authority" to get his way? Mr. Sir cannot be an actual name, can it? I can only imagine him getting teased when at school or… anywhere else for that matter.

"So, we dig? Do we do anything else?" I asked. I mean, how could I dig constantly?

"Nope, just dig," Mr. Sir said. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a burlap sack, then ate a handful of sunflower seeds. "Want some?"

"Uh, no thanks," I said. If his grubby hands were reaching into that sack and touching every single seed, I didn't want anything to do with it.

"Right answer girl! I wouldn't give you anything anyway. All you get is what they serve in the Mess Hall," Mr. Sir said laughing. I didn't find it funny at all.

"What are we digging for? Is there some buried treasure or are we trying to get to China?" I asked curiously. He stopped laughing, dead serious again.

"Why… you're digging to build character! You take a bad boy… or girl, make them dig holes all day in the hot sun, and they become a good boy or girl," Mr. Sir said with many hand gesticulations.

"Wait, you said boy or _girl_, are there other girls here?!" I asked excitedly. He laughed again, and I knew what he was going to say to me next.

"You're the only female for about a hundred miles!" he said through gasps and spurts of laughter. _I_ didn't find that too funny.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Sir?" a short little man said as he walked into the oven… I mean room… walked into the room. I'm normal height, and this grown man was about four inches shorter than me. And I wasn't wearing my heels today. "Oh, is this a new recruit? Well hello, I'm Dr. Pendanski!"

"Uh, I'm Ryan," I said. The peppy little man was… too peppy. I thought he might explode as he shook my hand. Men his age, whatever that may be, should not have that much energy. And he was a doctor? I wasn't sure I wanted to know what kind; did they just hand out medical licenses or give random titles?

"Pendanski, get her a uniform and get the girl to D-tent. She'll be in there with the boys. I've gotta see the kitchen staff about something," Mr. Sir said. He disappeared out the door, holding his sunflower seeds in his hand.

"Well, Ryan, let's see. I'll be right back with your uniforms, so take a seat right there and just hang on for a few minutes." The man disappeared and I sat down in a rickety chair, but at least it didn't threaten to break like the ones back home. I stared around the room, already bored with life her at Camp Green Lake.

It was then I spotted them… the cigarettes. A whole stash of them probably meant to be hidden. And no one was in the room… Just taking one pack from that drawer wouldn't hurt. I was all alone no one would know. One pack wasn't that much. It looked like there must be about a hundred packs there easily, and not even cheap cigarettes like I was used to. This was like looking for a hidden treasure you buried, but striking oil in your backyard instead. Who would catch me?

No one would notice I decided. I stood up, and walked over to the drawer, opening it fully. I felt like I had hit the jackpot without having to buy a ticket. This was my treasure. I'd take just one pack, smoke one cigarette every few days. Already I had gone twelve days without a single smoke. It was possible, I could definitely do this. I took the single pack and put it in the big pocket on the front of my hoodie. Then I quickly slammed the drawer shut and sat back down as Pendanski returned to the room.

"Okay Ryan, this is your uniform you will be required to wear. You get two and every other day your work outfit will be washed. If you would like, you may change in the bathroom and I'll wait out here," Pendanski said.

"Oh thank you so much," I said sarcastically. The clothes felt starchy, you know that hard feeling? It feels like soap was left on them. It made itchy clothes even worse. And they smelled funny; not dirty, but soapy. Someone needs to learn how to wash clothing properly, and that someone is not me. I can do my own laundry very well.

I stepped into the bathroom and pulled the clothes on over my sweatpants. I took off the hoodie, buttoned the ugly orange jumpsuit up, and replaced the hoodie. Then I hid the cigarettes in one of the big pockets on the orange jumpsuit. I quickly ran my fingers through my hair, putting it in a loose ponytail. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Pendanski began to laugh at me.

"What's so funny?" I asked; a look of shock and confusion probably on my face.

"You look about ready for a snowstorm! Too bad that won't ever happen; it hasn't even rained here since the Warden's granddaddy was a young man!" Okay, but why is that so funny.

"Okay, hahaha, that's funny alright," I said; I wasn't very amused by that.

"Well, let's go get you settled in before the boys come back. They'll be in for quite a surprise. We found out you were arriving for sure this morning and didn't tell them yet," Pendanski said. I lifted the backpack onto my shoulder and followed him into the afternoon heat. The sun was almost directly overhead, there were no clouds, and it was extremely hot.

"So about how many boys are here?" I asked. Looking around, I didn't see any signs at all of boys living here.

"Well, we have five tents and each tent has seven or eight boys. Then we have a work staff in the kitchens of fifteen other boys. That's between fifty and fifty-five boys. There are five leaders, including me, and there is Mr. Sir. But you and the Warden are the only females here, but you'll only see her when you're in trouble or something really good happens," the doctor said. By this point, we'd passed by three of the tents and were entering D-tent.

"So I'm not the only girl here?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh, well you are. The Warden left on some business just last week and that may take her a few more months. For now, Mr. Sir runs the place," Pendanski explained. "This will be your bunk; you get one crate for all of your belongings to go in. You're not the only thief here missy, remember that." I dropped my backpack on my bed and sat down. There was a thin sheet on top of a lumpy mattress that smelled a lot like sour milk.

"So that's it right? I'll wait here for the boys I guess. You can go away now. Bye," I said. I stood up as soon as the short man left, watching out the tent flap as he walked away.

I quickly went back to my bag and emptied everything out on the stinky cot. I picked through all the things I had in there; the things I had lived off of when I ran away. I picked out all of the valuables that were in my bag, the stuff I didn't want stolen or to be seen by anyone. I placed my clothes in the crate, completely filling it up so that it threatened to overflow. The rest of the things went on my bed in a pile: CDs, walkman, MP3 player, three lighters, six full and one partially empty book of matches, and ten packs of Nicorette gum, twenty-three bucks, a pocket knife, and boxes of pads and tampons. I had stolen all of it. I added the single carton of stolen cigarettes to the pile as well. I shoveled it all into the backpack and zipped it up safely. Now I had to hide it…

Luckily for me, I'd noticed one thing: the tents were raised off of the ground about a foot and was boarded up so nothing could get underneath. The floor was a bunch of two-by-fours or something like that; an unfinished wood floor that posed the risk of giving someone a nasty, unforgiving splinter or two. I walked outside the tent into the blistering heat, and picked up a large rock off the ground; it probably served some purpose, but I didn't see what that was. It probably weighed about fifteen, twenty, twenty-five pounds or more. Looking around, I saw no one else was around yet; no boys in sight, no Pendanski, no Mr. Sir, nobody at all. I carried it back into the tent and placed it carefully on my cot. I slid my cot over and picked the rock up again. I raised the rock above my head and let it drop on the wood floor. A large dent formed where it hit, a small crevice branching out from it. I picked it up and dropped it once again, the board now breaking off.

"Oops," I said with a giggle, a smiling breaking out across my face. I shoved the bag into the hole and replaced the splinters and chunks of wood so the hole was completely covered. Then I moved my cot back and tossed the rock outside the tent flap.

"Now to rest up before the icky boys arrive," I said to myself, lying down on the cot and closing my eyes.

**(A/N 2: One question (I'll do questions at the end of every chapter). Continue or no? Alright, I told a little lie, one more question. Should this be a romance, and if so, who should Ryan fall in love with? Thanks, review! I'll return the favor as soon as I can! The more reviews, maybe more incentive to continue… We'll say between 7 and 10 reviews and then I'll update this...?)**

**(A/N 3: Anyone reading "Roses are Red," don't worry. I will. The CD that is saved on has been left at my Nonni and Nonno's house (Italian grandparents) in Maine. I live in Massachusetts almost three-and-a-half hours away. I only go up there once a month on my Dad's weekend. That would be this coming weekend, but I'm on crutches and have a bulky cast, so we aren't going. Maybe they'll mail it, but they don't wanna lose it on me. I'll get it soon I hope. I'll try and update that story soon though. Sorry about that.)**


	2. Dirty Little Boys

**(A/N: This wasn't meant to be like Squid's story, although it may seem it was meant to. This is _Ryan's_ story; hence the reason the main character is Ryan and not Alan/ Squid. I also forgot to mention something in the previous chapter. Caveman is not here. Ryan is the one to come instead of him… so far. Maybe he will come later…? I don't know. I haven't decided. What do you guys think? Caveman, should he be I this story? Oh yeah, most chapters will be this long. I like to make them between six and ten pages (this one is almost eight complete pages). Here is the (long awaited?) second chapter. What will happen next? Read on to find out.)**

**Disclaimer: I do own a five-by-five hole I dug in my backyard with my own five foot shovel. But, the story Holes just isn't the same. Thus, I don't own it.**

Suddenly I was aware of voices, all of them male. It woke me from the dream I was having, causing me to forget it instantly. And I was pretty sure it was happy for once; that'd be just my luck.

"How'd she get here then, suddenly poof in from somewhere?" one voice asked.

"I dunno, but we should ask her," another said.

"I think she's dead," a third voice said. Then someone poked me in the ribs, hard enough it hurt, but still tickled.

"Hey, watch it you creep," I said, sitting up in bed and grabbing some kid's shirt collar. Dust flew from his clothes; talk about gross. This one had a white, dusty towel on his head and a hat on top of that. Everything about him was dusty and dirty. I pushed him away and he glared at me like some macho man. I started laughing at the motley crew standing before me; all of them were dirty, dusty, and sweaty. Was this my tent? I took a quick breath in and realized how bad they smelled. No wonder I thought this tent smelled a little funky.

"You watch out girl," one of the scrawny ones said. He was black, and he wore dirty, ugly coke bottle glasses; he was bigger than me, but still small. "This is our tent, ours only. Just what do you think you're doing here? This is a _boys'_ camp, not for girls."

"Well, creep number two, I'm stuck here for the next two-and-a-half years with you _boys_. So get used to it. I've got more problems than any of you, so we'd better get along. I can make it a total hell for you if you want," I said. I was mad, beyond mad, irate. I'm a girl; they can't just push me around like some slave. I did end up here, just like them, right? We aren't so different. _For once, I'm not going to let everyone treat me like crap; it's a new start, and it's starting my way._ I had hoped for nice introductions with them, become instant friends and all. This wasn't that.

"You must have done something weird or serious for them to send you here, right? What'd you do?" a third creep said, he was white like creep one. His hair was flying out in all different directions, looking absolutely untamable. It looked like he had stuck his finger in an electrical outlet and gotten zapped.

"No, I asked to come here," I said. They obviously didn't believe me because they began to laugh.

"Are you crazy or do you think you're some tough little chick? They wouldn't let you come here if you wanted to. Nobody _wants_ to come here. And if you actually wanted to, you're definitely off your rocker. If you want to lie, try and do better than _that_. No girls come here, why would you?" creep two asked as he laughed. This only instigated them.

"Yeah girl, I mean, this place isn't for guys who committed serious offenses or anything. Most of us stole, burned stuff, or whatever; for a girl to come here, something has to be up," the only Hispanic boy said.

"I seriously asked to come here… in a roundabout way. Of course, I didn't say "Camp Green Lake" directly. But I don't want to talk about it right now. I have plenty of time to fill you guys in," I said. I sat back down on my cot. The rest of them eased seeing as I was sitting. All of them had been standing up, probably in case I attacked someone like I had to hurt creep number one. There was one boy sitting in the corner, staring at the top of the tent like he was in his old world. He didn't laugh or anything when the others did. I still thought he was a creep, just by association; creep number four.

"Liar," a heavy, black boy said as he pretended to cough. This was creep number five, an actual creep unlike number four. I hated when people did that fake cough or sneeze thing; everyone got what you were saying. It was for people who are chickens to avoid fights but want to show off for their buddies. I decided to ignore it as the boys began to laugh again.

"My name is Ryan Jacobs. Who are you guys?" I asked. They still seemed cautious, but the laughing had stopped so I was somewhat happy.

"I'll introduce us _properly_; ignore any names Mom calls us by. He doesn't understand tradition or that we don't go by our actual names," creep number two said. He continuously took charge. He wasn't the biggest, yet everyone respected him, that's exactly what I wanted for myself. "A'ight, I'm X-Ray, this is Squid, Armpit, Zigzag, Magnet, and Zero. Don't bother with Zero, he doesn't talk and is a waste of time," X-Ray said.

"So what are your real names?" I asked. How bad were their real names that they needed names like X-Ray? The boys began to laugh.

"We won't tell you those, but Mom will," X-Ray said, still smiling.

"Who is Mom?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, that's Pendanski. We gave him that nickname because he is like our mom while we're here, always watching over us. We don't get away with _anything_," X-Ray explained me.

"The keyword to that sentence would be _we_," I stated blatantly. "That means you guys, you _boys_, not me. I'm a girl. There's a big difference between us."

"But don't try anything," Magnet said, "because if you do get caught, the Warden will seriously kill you. She has tried; boys have disappeared without any explanation at all. They go in, but never come out."

"Yeah, she sees everything we do, and hears everything we say. She has microphones and cameras hidden everywhere. We don't see them, but she knows everything," Zigzag told me. I nodded; already I knew he would be the crazy one. There is one in every bunch.

"So she just heard everything you told me?" I asked him. His jaw dropped and I began to laugh, along with all of the boys. So, I would assume this would be the first bonding between us.

"Come on guys," Squid said as soon as we all had stopped laughing at my joke. Zigzag was looking around like the Warden was going to drop in on us at any moment. Maybe they didn't know she wasn't on site. "Let's go to the Wreck Room and play some pool."

"Um, aren't you guys gonna take showers first? You're kind of gross and all," I said.

"Why would we shower? That would waste shower tokens. We don't have unlimited showers. Each token gets you four minutes of cold water," Armpit said. "You see, most of us save our tokens and take one shower every other day. You get a longer shower that way."

"But you all smell like sweat. The sweat doesn't go away; it dries and stays on your skin until it gets washed off," I said, slightly revolted. Okay, totally revolted and I felt like I might barf.

"We all smell anyway. Starting tomorrow, after you work all day, you won't even notice it. You _will_ stink. Then you will realize how genius we are by taking longer showers," Squid said.

"You guys could just take more water from the water spigot. You have huge water jugs from what I can see. Fill them up and wash off with those," I pointed out. Apparently no one had thought of that idea. They all left immediately, towels and water containers in hand, even Zero. So he listens but doesn't talk; that might be welcome among these boys. They seemed fairly dense.

"I think my reward should be a nice cigarette," I said to myself with an evil smile. I grabbed the full carton I stole from Mr. Sir from my hiding spot and quickly lit one up, replacing the lighter and carton so the boys wouldn't find them. I took a slow drag on it and quickly changed out of my orange jumpsuit. Thankfully none of the boys came in, but I knew I had at least four minutes to myself. I cherished that time, knowing it wouldn't come around that often.

When I heard the voices of D-tent coming, I took one final drag on the cigarette and tossed it on the ground, stomping it out under my bed. The boys threw their stuff on their cots and left. Apparently they didn't notice the definite presence of cigarette smoke. I would have to be careful about that.

"Ryan, come on," Squid yelled back into the tent.

"Thanks for the invitation boys," I said when I'd caught up with them.

"You should have come when we left. We move as a group; like you said, we're stuck together and might as well get along," X-Ray said.

"So suddenly I'm part of the group?" I asked. Just a little while ago they didn't want anything to do with me.

"Yeah, you wanted to be in the group. We didn't want to you doing anything dumb, so we decided we'd teach you a little about life here," X-Ray told me.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you boys," I said with mock sweetness. "Too bad I never _asked_ to be stuck with you dirty, smelly boys. They stuck me here."

"Anyway- I'll repeat it- we're kind of stuck with you, like you said, so we don't want to get dragged down by anything that you might say or do," Zigzag said. "And we never actually asked them for you to be in our tent either. But we'll take you."

"Good, because I'm staying for a long time," I said. We entered the Wreck Room and headed for the empty pool table. I ignored the other boys. Some of them were staring, others pretending they weren't, but all of them were looking at me silently.

"Is that a real girl?" someone finally asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Better get this over with quickly," I said to myself as a pep talk. The room was still silent; I hate silence. Ever since I was little it made me uneasy; that's all my house was filled with and I had learned to hate it right away. Silence meant trouble; trouble meant I would be involved somehow, it always did. I jumped onto the pool table so everyone could see me, as if they couldn't before. Anyone who was pretending not to look before now stared at me; something about being taller demands attention.

"Ryan, get down," X-Ray said in a stern voice. I shushed him quickly.

"I know what I'm doing, trust me," I said, and then I raised my voice so everyone could hear. "Alright, everybody take a look at me. This is the one chance you get. Yes, I'm a girl, I have boobs; big deal, get over it soon or I'll make you. I'm here for the next two-and-a-half years, but don't expect to be my friend or that I'm "easy." I'm here, I was sent here for a reason, just like all of you were. And if you even _think_ of coming near me, remember I'm a hell of a lot sneakier, smaller, quicker, and smarter than any of you; than _all_ of you put together. Here's your one free look; if I see you looking again, you're gonna get it." With that, I jumped off the pool table and grabbed a pool stick. "So, who's breaking?"

**(A/N 2: Question: Who thinks this should be a love story? Ho should she fall in love with? What ideas do people have? What's going on in your minds right now? Should Caveman be in this? If you decide that he should, I have an idea as to when I'll bring him to the tent (Yes, I said this at the beginning, but I want everyone to remember what I'm asking.).)**

**(A/N 3: Do you like this? Is anyone reading? Continue?)**

**(A/N: 4: Hey guys, before I forget, should the title stay the same? I just changed it to "Poor Baby," should it remain that way? Does anyone have an idea or two or three or…? We can take a vote eventually.)**


	3. Dinner and a Story

**(A/N: It's vacation! And I'm sick again. So I've been up all night, and just this morning thought… "Why not get that third chapter of "Poor Baby" started?" And I started it. Then I finished it. So everyone enjoy reading… and review. Input is good.)**

**Disclaimer: Hm… Would I even think of _disclaim_ing this if I owned it? Hm… I'd have to say… most likely not.**

A bell went off and we were all herded into a barn for dinner, just like cows. It wasn't a barn; I was just trying to be funny. You get it right; cows, herded, barn? Uh, never mind then. You poor, poor city folk have no idea what I'm talking about. I remember what it was like two days ago to be living in the hustle and bustle, to choke on dirty air, always in a rush… It all seemed so far away. Alright, so I exaggerate, but I'm already living a different life, or so it seems.

The meal we were offered wasn't much either; cows wouldn't have to eat it. I was informed it was stewed beef, steamed vegetables, a slice of fresh bread, and a single serving of warm milk. It was stale, moldy, and unappetizing… and that was only the bread, the good part of the meal.

The only distinguishable thing between the vegetable and the meat was the color. The vegetables were a dark green, while the meat was pale brown. Both of the dishes were soupy and lumpy, and they gave off a strange, revolting smell. But at least they looked warm; fresh was another thing altogether. The milk was warm, and most of them were lumpy. It was probably a month old, but the expiration date was scratched out, most likely to avoid a huge commotion. The boys drank it down like it was cool, refreshing water from an oasis in the middle of the Sahara Desert; I merely pushed it aside.

In all actuality, I pushed it all aside, suddenly not hungry. I thought if I ate it, I would probably barf.

"I don't know how you boys do it. If I eat any of this food, I may be sick," I told them. They had no problem keeping it down, in fact, they couldn't get enough. I almost gagged just thinking about them eating it. I almost gagged when I thought about _me_ eating it.

"We all thought that our first few days; so we didn't eat any of it. But eventually, you get so hungry and weak, you have to eat it. It's no treat, but without it, you die," X-Ray told me from his seat at the head of the table. I was sandwiched between Magnet and Squid.

"But I _am_ starving," I told them. "I still don't want to eat that."

"Going a day or two without food isn't starving," Zigzag said. "I almost went six days without any food at all. I lived off water. But, once I ate, I realized how much easier to dig it becomes."

"Yeah; no food, no energy," Magnet said.

"Thanks for the input Mr. Brain," I mumbled.

"What I _meant_ was, if you eat, you'll have an easier first day," Magnet revised. Sometimes using more words clears things up a little better; the English language is just amazing.

"Fine," I said. "If I try this dinner, and I'm able to keep it all down, I'll eat it. _But_, if I barf or I'm sick, I don't have to eat."

"What's so great about that?" Squid asked. "You don't win or lose, and neither do we."

"Yeah, but if she doesn't eat, we get to scrap her shriveled up body off the lakebed," X-Ray said, laughing. Everyone laughed, but I rolled my eyes.

"I was getting to that! If you hadn't interrupted me, I would be eating by now," I said. "If I _don't_ barf after cleaning off the tray, I answer one question from each of you. But if I _do_ barf, you guys have to tell me something about yourselves, and it has to be interesting. And I'll be the one to decide if it's good enough."

"Deal, as long as I get your food if you don't eat it," Armpit said. I smiled and nodded. So, I ate one bite of the brown mashed with the green. There was no taste at all. So, I ate it all. The bread was easiest to eat. I had to eat stale bread at home all the time, when there was food to eat that is. There wasn't always food at home. I had to buy what I needed.

But then I got to the milk.

"Maybe I shouldn't even try to drink it," I said. I swished it in the carton and could hear lumps. I mean come on, I had already eaten it all, but this was threatening everything I had done. Eating rotten food at home was one thing, but sour milk was a total different thing.

"Well, you never did mention drinking anything," Zigzag pointed out in my defense.

"But it's on the tray. You sad you would clear off the _entire_ tray," Squid pointed out.

"And milk helps build strong bones," Magnet said. I glared at him. We were silent. If the room had been empty, there would have been cricket noises. "What I _meant_ was that-"

"That wasn't even remotely funny," I said, cutting him off. "Fine, I'll just answer your questions; I don't want to risk barfing."

"No; you either have to clear the tray or barf. Not finishing the meal wasn't an option in the bet," X-Ray said. I made puppy-dog eyes at him. But that didn't even faze him. Talk about a hardened criminal.

"Fine, I'll do it. But when I _do_ barf- because there isn't even a question in my mind about barfing now- who is cleaning it up for me?" I asked sweetly. All of them looked repulsed. "What goes down _will_ come up. Man, will barfing up that meal be raunchy or what?!" I picked up the milk, popped open the top, and raised it to my mouth, and was about to drink-

"No don't," they said, almost simultaneously. Squid hit the carton from my hand, knocking it on the ground.

"Ha, I was kidding!" I yelled. They all looked at me, totally dumbfounded. "That wasn't slightly old; I faked it all to see what you guys would do. I even started to convince _myself_ that it was old, lumpy, and I would barf from drinking it. I'm too good. Man, you should have seen your faces." I reveled in my brilliance as they started to put everything together. I was smiling as I retrieved the spare milk from Armpit's tray across the table from me. "I had that planned from the start. Why would my carton of milk be lumpy when yours aren't sour?" I asked.

"It happens," Armpit said. "One carton of milk is forgotten, then found one day and given to some poor, unsuspecting camper. It can end badly." He was a melodramatic person at times I assume.

"But you swished it and there were the noises-"

"From empty spaces being filled by the sloshing milk," I said, cutting off Magnet. I began to laugh as I drank my new milk.

"You're a liar!" Zigzag said.

"A _good_ liar," Armpit said as he tried to get the milk from my hands. I handed it back when I was finished with it.

"I'm also a thief and criminal among many other things. Boys, you have _a lot_ to learn about me. But, that will be later. Right now, we're going back to the tent. You've all got some storytelling to do," I said. I took my tray and threw it away in the row of trashcans by the large doors.

As I left the Mess Hall, I knew I was going to get the respect I deserved. For once, my plans were going as I hoped they would. Let's just see how long this will last.

-Back at the Tent-

We were all sitting on out cots inside the small, smelly tent. Before the smell was enough to make me gag, but after that meal, I was all set. And the meal actually wasn't that bad. You probably think I'm a freak for saying that.

"Okay boys; the deal was that if I don't barf, you tell me a little something about yourselves. I decide if it's good enough to be considered an intriguing story," I told them. The silly boys fell for my trick; they were bound to have forgotten the actual deal. They didn't know that, I had switched it around a little. I was the one who was supposed to be answering the questions, not them. _What they don't know won't hurt-_

"But you were supposed to answer the questions," Zero said quickly. My jaw dropped in shock; everyone else had the same exact reaction. There were three reasons for that. One, Zero actually talked! Two, he actually remembered the deal, _and_ realized I switched it! And three, Zero talked!

After the initial shock, I gritted my teeth.

"He's right; you ask the questions, I respond. Let the torture commence," I said. So my plan didn't work. I knew it was too good to be true; it always is. "I said go!" And obviously the geniuses don't know what the word _commence_ means.

"Seeing as _I'm_ the leader, I'll go first," X-Ray said. I rolled my eyes, and was surprised that no one else did when he said that. They must be used to it by now. _He's got a Napoleon complex._ "A'ight, what was your crime?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"So that's the best you can do? What a great leader you are X. Pathetic," I mumbled. X-Ray glared at me. "Okay, among many things, I was arrested for smoking, getting caught smoking on school ground with a lighter and carton of cigarettes, getting caught stealing a billion times, evading arrest, missing my court date, running away from home- even though that isn't really a punishable offense, that's on my record- having an alcoholic beverage on school grounds, _and_ being in possession of alcohol when I was arrested," I said in one breath. "And that's only the tip of the iceberg," I added. Yeah, there were still a few things I didn't mention… and didn't plan to. "I'm sure you've all done worse, but that's fine. I'm not exactly proud of what I've done."

"Then why would you do it?" Squid asked.

"That's your one question," I told him with a smile.

"But that's not fair!" he protested. I rolled my eyes; I knew I'd be able to sucker a few of them into asking dumb questions like that. It was a lot easier than I expected. I quickly debated how to answer that one.

"My life… at home… it wasn't what you could call pretty. My parents sort of weren't totally- weren't at all- in the picture. And they drank and smoked so… I picked it up; more smoking than drinking. I stole to live; they didn't work and we had no money. I really only… I wanted them to notice me for once," I explained. "And once again, I only touched the tip of the iceberg," I said. _There's so much more about me they wouldn't understand. They didn't have to deal with that sort of stuff. They weren't in my shoes._ "Any more questions for me?" I asked, hoping there were none.

"What would you do if your best friend was here?" Zigzag asked. These were dumb boys! How were they coming up with these questions? These were kind of deep and I definitely wasn't expecting anything like this.

"I don't have any friends. People usually avoided me simply because of the fact I got in trouble a lot. They were warned. Everyone knew about my parents and how they abu- drank and were deadbeats. That sort of thing," I said. I had almost slipped back there. I don't think any of them noticed.

"Were you in a gang?" Magnet asked with a smile.

"What the hell kind of question is that?!" I asked. I was angry with that one. "That's like asking if I sleep around just because I drink and smoke! It's stereotyping. That'd be like me asking you if your entire family swam to the United States in a fucking raft! You don't say something like that!" I yelled.

"I didn't mean it like that?" Magnet said. His tone wasn't so convincing. Maybe he didn't mean it, but it could be inferred; he couldn't read between the lines. I covered my face with my pillow to avoid further humiliation as I cursed Magnet out.

"I wasn't in a gang," I told them finally when I calmed down. "I don't trust people enough to have them watching my back or work together. If you even _think_ of saying something about someone in the gang, you're either dead or wishing you were dead. A gang, a friendship, or anything else like that, you need to have trust in each other. The whole thing works on trust and dependability. I can't… I can't do that."

"What's you favorite food?" I'm sure you can guess who asked that one. Yeah, it was Zero. Only kidding; Armpit was the one who asked that.

"Uh, shrimp scampi I guess," I told them.

"I thought you were poor. How can you afford that sort of thing? It's pretty expensive; all seafood is up there in prices," Squid said. "Trust me I know that from experience."

"Uh, you asked your question before," I told him. He glared. "Of course, you could ask Zero to ask me that same question. Then I might just answer it. But Zero might not want to waste his question on something so dumb."

"Same question," Zero said. I frowned. I had hoped to make Squid suffer. Silly Zero obviously couldn't read my mind.

"I've got my connections," I told them. They looked like they wanted a better explanation. "I live down the street from a cheap little restaurant. They do Italian and seafood mostly. The owner needed to get some dirt- a few files- from this place about one of his workers. But they kept everything under tight security. So I did it for him, and he gave me free food. I did it about seven times, so I tried a lot of the food there."

"If he couldn't get a professional thief to do the job, then how could you do it?" Zigzag asked. "Did you get caught?" I knew he asked a dumb question already, but they were all wondering they same thing. And I hadn't mentioned this one in my criminal record, so there was a possibility I was caught.

"They still haven't caught the person who stole those files for him, so if you ever want to get me in trouble with the law, there you go. And who would ever suspect an innocent little girl of criminal activity? All I was doing was writing a report about the workings of a town hall?" I told them with a smile. I have a feeling that story would earn some trust from them, not that I trusted them.

"So you ate _shrimp scampi_?" Magnet asked.

"That's enough questions. And that is all you boys are going to find out about me tonight. I'll talk to all of you in the morning.

**(A/N 2: Do you like or hate it? Input welcomed. How is my grammar and spelling? I'm not really awake and I'm sick, so it might be a little off. Tell me.)**

**Running.**


End file.
